Sourdough French Toast with Strawberry Syrup

I love french toast! Growing up our family would go out to breakfast after church on Sundays and my favorite thing to get at the local diner was the Bonjour Breakfast. It was french toast with bacon and it was achingly sweet when drenched in pancake syrup, but it was my favorite.

This french toast is a less-sweet grown up version. It is rich and custardy and the strawberry syrup is a perfect tangy-sweet topping. I like to get the pre-sliced square pan sourdough bread. You can use any shape loaf, but the square pan slices are all the same size and fit well on my griddle.

Sourdough French Toast

9 Large slices of sourdough bread (I like the pre-sliced square pan bread.)

6 Eggs

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Cup Milk (I use whole milk.)

3 Tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 Tablespoons of Butter for the griddle

Powdered sugar for dusting (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place bread slices directly on the oven rack and bake for 5 minutes. You do not want to toast the bread, but you want to dry it out a little so it soaks up more of the custard.

Meanwhile, in a deep pie dish, add the eggs and scramble well. Add the cream, milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla and mix well with a whisk. Carefully remove the bread from the oven and set on a plate.

Heat a griddle to 350 degrees or heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place two pieces of the bread in the pie dish. Let them soak up a little custard then flip to coat the other side of the bread. Coat the griddle or skillet with a thin coat of butter. Place the soaked bread on the griddle and cook for 5 minutes on the first side. Gently flip and cook another 3-4 minutes until both sides are spotty golden brown. Continue with the remaining bread and custard. Serve immediately with strawberry syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Strawberry Syrup

1 Pound of Strawberries (Fresh or frozen both work great.)

1/4 Cup Sugar

In a medium saucepan, add the strawberries and sugar. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Use a potato masher to gently mash the strawberries. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes until the syrup is slightly thickened. Serve warm over Sourdough French Toast.